UIL 5A Area B 2026 (Oct 24)

[flutelolbro]

Here are the bands I believe should be at this area next year (these are not in order of what I think their placements will be next year in any way and is just a list):

Lovejoy HS

Sherman HS

Denison HS

Anna HS

Melissa HS

Community HS (moving up from 4A)

Celina HS (moving up from 4A)

Aubrey HS (moving up from 4A)

Argyle HS

Denton HS

The Colony HS

Ryan HS

Prosper Richland HS (moving up from 4A)

Panther Creek HS (moving up from 4A)

McKinney North HS (extreme rezoning)

Frisco HS

Reedy HS

Frisco Memorial HS (they are not moving down to 4A)

Frisco Liberty HS

Frisco Independence HS

Emerson HS

Frisco Heritage HS

Frisco Centennial HS 

Lone Star HS

Lebanon Trail HS

Schools leaving this area:

Prosper Walnut Grove (Moving up to 6A)

Wakeland HS (May or may not move up to 6A but I've seen more people say they are moving up to 6A)

There are 25 schools that are basically guaranteed to be in this area. This means there are 5 state spots in this area if every band makes it to area. I won't make any predictions until the season starts because some bands could be better or worse depending on many factor that a band can and can't control.

[Toasty]

On 11/15/2025 at 6:33 PM, stinkymonkey said:

As of right now:

Walnut Grove should be the only school moving up. FISD enrollment is declining, and if there was a risk of a school moving up to 6A they would rezone 

Mckinney ISD is rezoning HUGE so Mckinney North with actually be closer to ~1,600-1,700 people, Boyd and MHS will get huge boosts

That means 21 bands (if I count right), plus Celina, Panther Creek, and Richland. 24 bands, and I believe some others should move up, not sure where they’re located but one more band should join this area.

That being said, next year will have 25 state spots, here are my thoughts 

LT Argyle LS are at this point guaranteed top 3 and all state medal contenders

The 4A schools moving up shouldn’t preform very well, even Celina, looking at comps and how Anna is doing…

The lasts two spots go to whoever wants it more. I don’t even think any of the 5-13 are necessarily “better” than one another by a massive margin, as we can see how Melissa and Heritage snuck in last minute.

Do I think Melissa will place as high next year? I don’t think so but they could do it as historically I know they have not been as concerned with the competition aspect of the season

McN I think is out with the rezoning and I believe their director is looking to move positions because of it…

So the whole bunch of frisco schools is for the next two spots, good luck to whoever wants it most! I think anyone can do it 

This McN rezoning thing is so dumb, they should stick to the actual number of students in their school rather than a hypothetical number, it gives them a completely unfair advantage by skirting thr system, 3 away from 6A 2 years ago to 2500 last year to predicted 1800 this year?

[TrenBS]

40 minutes ago, Toasty said:

This McN rezoning thing is so dumb, they should stick to the actual number of students in their school rather than a hypothetical number, it gives them a completely unfair advantage by skirting thr system, 3 away from 6A 2 years ago to 2500 last year to predicted 1800 this year?

Im going to say its not done with the band in mind. McKinney Norths max occupation is 2300 and they will be 100 over that population next year which will stress facilities and staff.

Its necessary until they revamp the school, they dont have the space for all the kids and academics/maintaining good rosters is going to be the priority

[dfwhorn]

Anyone know anything about lake dallas? They were 5A in 2023 but I havent heard much about them this alignment.

[bandguy13]

On 11/15/2025 at 7:10 PM, Gpk1968 said:

I have some insight as to what happened with the Anna program. They were already in decline before they left 4a. They went to a 4 day week and lost their assistant director (who is now at North Lamar).  This coupled with some administrative mismanagement issues (district wide) really tanked that program. Teachers were literally flooding out of the district. My wife was offered a lot of money to go the high school and be a team lead to help turn some things around and she declined because the morale was so low. I keep rooting for them to rebound. 
 

I don’t think comparing Celina to Anna is a fair comparison. I’ve been following the rapid rise of this program since about 2019 or 2020. I would put celina more on the same trajectory as Argyle, or maybe Melissa at worst. I don’t think they are going to come in year one and make a bold statement but I do think they will be up there in a few years, especially with the growth out there. The band has the potential to be BIG and they aren’t projecting a new high school for I think 4-5 years. I’m sure for year one they are just aiming to make area finals, and they go from there. 

there’s also some huge financial mismanagement that happened when the old percussion director left and the new one came on. had like a two year old drumline and decided to buy a new one when other areas are falling apart. anna’s in a rough spot because they’re throwing money in the wrong places

[TrenBS]

McKinney North is going to EVENTUALLY become really strong after these new attendance alignments in MISD. But for now they got the short end of the stick because the main feeder is experiencing major revamps and changes, but is overall the weakest school in the district (for now)

I think theyll probably be 6th next year unless the staff is locked in. They are losing a lot of incoming talent but I dont know how itll affect them besides them just being way smaller next year.

[Cluelessbanddad]

On 11/17/2025 at 10:24 AM, Toasty said:

This McN rezoning thing is so dumb, they should stick to the actual number of students in their school rather than a hypothetical number, it gives them a completely unfair advantage by skirting thr system, 3 away from 6A 2 years ago to 2500 last year to predicted 1800 this year?

Dumb would be maintaining existing  school attendance zones and then  exceeding structural capacity, fire codes, and optimal class sizes. 🙄

[Tubalord11]

On 11/17/2025 at 7:46 PM, dfwhorn said:

Anyone know anything about lake dallas? They were 5A in 2023 but I havent heard much about them this alignment.

They became 4A last alignment 

[stinkymonkey]

On 11/25/2025 at 3:28 PM, TrenBS said:

McKinney North is going to EVENTUALLY become really strong after these new attendance alignments in MISD. But for now they got the short end of the stick because the main feeder is experiencing major revamps and changes, but is overall the weakest school in the district (for now)

I think theyll probably be 6th next year unless the staff is locked in. They are losing a lot of incoming talent but I dont know how itll affect them besides them just being way smaller next year.

I’m going to be honest, I don’t think they’ll be anywhere above 10th or 9th… sure small bands can do well but that will impact many things like their funding, staff, and I think at least for the first two years or so they’ll be struggling a lot

[TrenBS]

2 hours ago, stinkymonkey said:

I’m going to be honest, I don’t think they’ll be anywhere above 10th or 9th… sure small bands can do well but that will impact many things like their funding, staff, and I think at least for the first two years or so they’ll be struggling a lot

It only affects their freshman class so theres no way they drop below finals just because of a single class whos mostly alternates anyways. If it does end up happening than you are right, but I have enough trust in the current staff to at least remain in area finals

In 3 years however... could be the case if the feeder school doesnt improve. They are revamping the facilities and they are improving, but they are still the weakest on average by a decent margin

 

[dfwhorn]

On 11/26/2025 at 11:31 AM, Tubalord11 said:

They became 4A last alignment 

Im aware of that, but I have no clue what their numbers are for this alignment. Since its a smaller town they probably shrank a bit but I could see them returning

[flutelolbro]

On 11/28/2025 at 11:08 AM, dfwhorn said:

Im aware of that, but I have no clue what their numbers are for this alignment. Since its a smaller town they probably shrank a bit but I could see them returning

They had an enrollment of 1230 so they'll probably stay in 4A.

[BugWub24]

Here is your outlook for 5A Area B next season. If Argyle is going to win 5A, this next season HAS to be the year they do so. Argyle ISD is opening up a second high school in 2027, and then Argyle will likely move back down to 4A in 2028.

[Kimjungbassoon]

1 hour ago, BugWub24 said:

Here is your outlook for 5A Area B next season. If Argyle is going to win 5A, this next season HAS to be the year they do so. Argyle ISD is opening up a second high school in 2027, and then Argyle will likely move back down to 4A in 2028.

The current projection from Argyle shows them staying 5A after the split and the new school opening as a 3A. 

[TrumpetEmperor67]

1. LT/Lonestar LT

2. Lone Star/Argyle/LT

3. Argyle/Lone star/LT

4. Reedy

5. Liberty/Emerson/Independence

6. Emerson/Liberty/Independence

7. Independence/Emerson/Liberty

8. Celina

9. Heritage

10. Mckinney North

11. Frisco

12. Memorial

1-4🔒

5-7 interchangeable

8-12 bubble (anyone can be in those spots)

 

with Wakeland moving up to 6A and Walnut Grove as well 2 spots are vacant

[Toasty]

14 minutes ago, TrumpetEmperor67 said:

1. LT/Lonestar LT

2. Lone Star/Argyle/LT

3. Argyle/Lone star/LT

4. Reedy

5. Liberty/Emerson/Independence

6. Emerson/Liberty/Independence

7. Independence/Emerson/Liberty

8. Celina

9. Heritage

10. Mckinney North

11. Frisco

12. Memorial

1-4🔒

5-7 interchangeable

8-12 bubble (anyone can be in those spots)

 

with Wakeland moving up to 6A and Walnut Grove as well 2 spots are vacant

This might be a hot take, but I don’t see Celina making finals in this area next year. Maybe in a couple years, but seeing how they compared at McKinney marching invitational this year, it just doesn’t seem like they can compete with the 5A’s of this area 

[TrumpetEmperor67]

8 hours ago, Toasty said:

This might be a hot take, but I don’t see Celina making finals in this area next year. Maybe in a couple years, but seeing how they compared at McKinney marching invitational this year, it just doesn’t seem like they can compete with the 5A’s of this area 

I mean they have been state champions for as long as I can remember

[Tubalord11]

2 hours ago, TrumpetEmperor67 said:

I mean they have been state champions for as long as I can remember

Yes, but that was in 4A. Seeing how they placed at Melissa and Mckinney against 5A bands in this area, it's night and day between 4A and 5A. 

Also, I don't think Wakeland is going up to 6A as per your post

[flutelolbro]

5 hours ago, TrumpetEmperor67 said:

I mean they have been state champions for as long as I can remember

While this is true, we can't really compare them to Argyle. Argyle became state champs with no other band being even close to them and were also beating more 5A bands when they were 4A compared to Celina. The main reason Celina were state champions was because Argyle left and is barely holding on to that spot when competing with bands like Panther Creek.

2 hours ago, Tubalord11 said:

Yes, but that was in 4A. Seeing how they placed at Melissa and Mckinney against 5A bands in this area, it's night and day between 4A and 5A. 

Also, I don't think Wakeland is going up to 6A as per your post

After seeing the cutoffs that have been released, Wakeland is 100% going up to 6A as the cutoff is 2215 and they have 2446 if I remember correctly.

[Tubalord11]

2 hours ago, flutelolbro said:

While this is true, we can't really compare them to Argyle. Argyle became state champs with no other band being even close to them and were also beating more 5A bands when they were 4A compared to Celina. The main reason Celina were state champions was because Argyle left and is barely holding on to that spot when competing with bands like Panther Creek.

After seeing the cutoffs that have been released, Wakeland is 100% going up to 6A as the cutoff is 2215 and they have 2446 if I remember correctly.

Oh dang okay, I could have sworn I saw they weren’t 

[Armyguy1381]

4 hours ago, flutelolbro said:

While this is true, we can't really compare them to Argyle. Argyle became state champs with no other band being even close to them and were also beating more 5A bands when they were 4A compared to Celina. The main reason Celina were state champions was because Argyle left and is barely holding on to that spot when competing with bands like Panther Creek.

After seeing the cutoffs that have been released, Wakeland is 100% going up to 6A as the cutoff is 2215 and they have 2446 if I remember correctly.

Wakeland turned in 2245 but yes they are going 6a.

[stinkymonkey]

I don’t see Celina or Panther creek doing very well, maybe celina in 2 more years but not so soon. They’re great in 4A but 5A is completely different

Also is it true there are 24 bands, or is that unconfirmed yet. It would suck to not have that 5th state slot 

[Tubalord11]

Okay so yeah Wakeland officially 6A, post on their bands Insta. Soooo, that’s gonna make things interesting. Like losing all Leander ISD and Wakeland??? 4A-6A is gonna look very interesting, but honestly I’m excited for this  change and to see how things play out. Curious to see if MN comes back in or if someone else can, and Walnut Grove to 6A so that’s another spot. Here’s my to early preds:

1. Lone Star (trust) 

2. Lebanon/Argyle 

3. Argyle/Lebanon Trail 

4. Reedy/ McKinney North 

5. MN/Reedy 

6. The Colony (maybe higher or lower, def could make state) 

7. Melissa 

8-10. Independence, Emerson, Lovejoy Heritage, Celina 

[BugWub24]

A little side note for 2027, pending Northwest Davis' and Denton HS #5's numbers, we could potentially have 26 bands in the area, which could draw 5 bands to state. Although it's probably inevitable that Aubrey is ready to move up in 2028 anyways.

[TrumpetEmperor67]

On 12/20/2025 at 9:40 PM, Tubalord11 said:

Okay so yeah Wakeland officially 6A, post on their bands Insta. Soooo, that’s gonna make things interesting. Like losing all Leander ISD and Wakeland??? 4A-6A is gonna look very interesting, but honestly I’m excited for this  change and to see how things play out. Curious to see if MN comes back in or if someone else can, and Walnut Grove to 6A so that’s another spot. Here’s my to early preds:

1. Lone Star (trust) 

2. Lebanon/Argyle 

3. Argyle/Lebanon Trail 

4. Reedy/ McKinney North 

5. MN/Reedy 

6. The Colony (maybe higher or lower, def could make state) 

7. Melissa 

8-10. Independence, Emerson, Lovejoy Heritage, Celina 

Lovejoy and TC over Liberty is crazy but predictions are predictions